Why Was There No Room in the Inn?

Bethlehem was a quiet and uneventful village, little more than a suburb of thriving, cosmopolitan Jerusalem. It wasn’t a travel destination as much as a small rest stop on the access road. It was just five miles outside of the big city, where the presence of God dwelt in the temple. Better lodgings were a matter of merely another hour’s walk.

But at the time, the empire was taking names, and all those Israelites who descended from King David were instructed to report to their hometown of Bethlehem. David’s time, the glory days of Israel, was now ten centuries in the past, and the late king’s extended family constituted a small nation itself. Envision those jammed avenues! The census was not only a boom time for innkeepers and food vendors, but also for pickpockets and criminals who could disappear into the crowds.

It was by heavenly design that He came into the world not in the relative comfort of the inn but in some farmer’s seedy shed or cavern.

The Lord of Creation chose to enter this world quietly amid an unquiet scene. It was by heavenly design that He came into the world not in the relative comfort of the inn but in some farmer’s seedy shed or cavern. A homeless birth was part and parcel of a homeless life. When we see Him at twelve, even then He is on the road to Jerusalem and the temple. Never do we find Him at home.

One day, when Jesus was an adult, a teacher declared that he would follow the Master anywhere. The Lord’s reply: ”Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head’ (Luke 9:58, NLT). His words bear a touch of wistful sadness. The life of Jesus was a long road that began at the stable and led to the cross – and finally, of course, to an empty tomb.

Before leaving on that final journey, He told His disciples, “There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?” (John 14:2, NLT). Homeless no more, He would throw open the doors of heaven, so that no one might be left in the cold.

Discover the answer to more questions like these in Dr. Jeremiah’s book, Why the Nativity?